I used to think that prayers for travel mercies were the devil. Like they belonged in the toilet right next to the prosperity Gospel and copies of Your Best Life Now . Didn't Jesus say that he who seeks to save his life will lose it?

Where are the dangerous prayers? The ones with real moxie, the ones with gut-twisting gumption that tenaciously insist, "Whatever you need to do to take me deeper, Lord... do that." Past every semi-truck as we grip the steering wheel just a little tighter, around every precarious curve, and through every yellow light - to pray in simplest benediction: "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done." More than life, limb, health or heart-break to contend that His will be done; nothing more and nothing less. Instead so often we mechanically let loose from our lips a shallow and faithless "Lord, keep me safe" for little other reason than that we hold our lives so very dear.

I'm writing as I stare down the barrel of a 42 hour 2,900 mile drive. In fact, by the time this blog is posted we'll be well on our way to Chicago. Maybe it's coincidence that my Bible-reading took me past Ezra yesterday.

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before God, to seek from Him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.Ezra 8:21

Now... I'm not taking a 5 month journey by foot. I don't have 1,500 people to look after. I'm not on a mission from the King of Persia. And I don't have the weight of revitalizing an entire nation's faith. No, I'm making a 4-day road-trip home. I'll eat junk-food. I'll listen to good music. And I'll enjoy the company of my girlfriend.

But how do I reconcile my faith with my very real travel itinerary? I don't want to "be safe" but God knows that for His glory I want to be safe. I want to take every risk and compromise every luxury (even my health) for the advancement of the Gospel, and I'll do it as long and as doggedly as He lets me. I'll take it from Ezra. Who considered the task before Him to be so sacred that he declared a fast, humbled himself, and sought the face of God. He experienced God's goodness very tangibly, every step of the journey. From Babylonia to Jerusalem.

WELCOME.TO MY BLOG.

my promise is honesty and brokeness... to allow this blog to host my soul's mess. i'll paint my heart for you to read... hued with honesty, beauty, and sometimes pain. not for pity or attention... but that herein, alone with my thoughts and shards of eternity, i meet God, who adores me... and He has captivated every fiber of my being - blood, bone, and bated-breath. He has me in His grip, and settling into His love, I find rest.

Whose that tall handsome man... oh that’s Jesus Christ. It’s nice to have one photo with two of the most influential leaders in my life.

☕️ Cortado. 📖 Book. 💁🏻‍♀️ Babe... My Sunday is made!

🐀🦁🗡”My own plans are made. While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan’s country, or shot over the edge of the world into some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise.” - Reepicheep

“Jesus! I am resting, resting - In the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart. Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, and Thy beauty fills my soul. For by Thy transforming power, Thou hast made me whole.”
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These words were written by Jean Sophia Pigott (b. 1845). They were favorites of Hudson Taylor. •
The soul-rest that comes by gazing upon Christ is true rest. •
#rest #jesus #pnw #northwestisbest #getoutstayout #greatoutdoors #greatpnw #pugetsound #kitsap

New Blogpost (link in bio) if you’re hurting or grieving. A poem of hope from pain. 🤟🏼